Automatic fluid-pressure pump



Dec. 24, 1929. P. suBKow 1,740,793

AUTOMATIC FLUID `PRESSURE PUMP Filed Jan. 9, 1929 Patented Der. 24, 192e UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PHILIP SUBKOW, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ABSIGNOR T0 UNION OIL COMPANY 0F CALIEOBNIA, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION 0F CALIFORNIA AUTOMATIC FLUID-PRESSURE PUMP applicatie; ,mea January a, 1929.- seminu. 331,267.

This invention relates to automatically operating devices for pumping liquid wlth as lift method wherein gas under pressure,

1s employed as the pressure fluid.

One .method of using gas under pressure to pump a liquid from a deep wellv employs an automatically operating valve mechanism actuable in an upward direction by rock .pressure to cut off gas flow andA permit liquid to enter a discharge chamber and actuable clown-V ward by gravity to admit gas under pressure into and under a column of liquid received in said chamber and simultaneously to cutY oi liquid entrance.' During the period when `the gas is' being admitted to displace the oil in the flow, tube, -the gas-oil ratio increases as the oil is being discharged, since the pressure of the gas at the casing head is usually not altered. In devices of this type as actually employed of the valve to cut oi the gas How, this lag being due to a back pressure in the lower end of the iow tube after the oil column has been expelled and caused by the friction in the flow tube due to the gas stream which pre vents rassure drop to permit valve actuation.

This ack pressure simulates the action of a head of oil and tends to keep the oil inlet valve closed causing the gas admission valve to remain open for alonger period than is required by the actual head of oil. This results in a considerable loss of gas.

In this invention there is a provision of means to shut o' the gas when a certain gas velocity, i. e. a certain difference in the gas pressure and the back pressure in the oil discharge tube, is reached, and this means, being 4so adapted' as'to shut oi the gas at the time when the eiiiciency of the lift due to thev discharge of the oil is reduced to low amount, will act to save gas and increase the eiiiciency [of the device. The means for shutting oi the gas when it reaches a certain velocity, i.. e. a

certain minimum back pressure in the lift tube, also prevents the gas admission valve from remaining open too long, since when the gas velocity reaches a predetermined limit, the gas is shut oi, permitting the presthere 'is a lag in the. operation` admission valve to open. f

I have'discovered that by installing in the owing vdevice, an automatically actuating mechanism ,such as a spring controlled dart' valve, the gas-ow can be cut oi whenever the rate of such flow reaches a predetermined maximum. The' gas flow thus having been suddenly interrupted the oil' control valve will o en by vreason of the rock pressure thereby vc osinv the valve mechanism which normally controtls the gas iiow. Upon cessation of said gasiiow the dart valve is immediately moved to its opposite position b a spring. This valve may be employed a o to prevent en-' trance of oil `to the gas passages-audio the gas control valve mechanism. Thus quick operations are assured and gas losses are prevented. v

y The invention therefore may be said to residev in mechanisms automatically actuated when as yiiow exceeds a predetermined rate, in com ination with an oil'control valve connectedv with and operatingv to open and close valve mechanismscontrolling the passage of gas under pressure, the oil control valve ac cording to a preferred form opening under iniiuence of well pressure and closing by gravity when a. certain balance between this pressure and the pressure in the tube is reached. Or more broadly s tated the-invention comprises a velocity actuated valve mechanism cooperating withpressureand gravvity-operated gas and oil control valves to permit said valves to function when the gas velocity exceeds a predetermined value.

In the accompanying drawings wherein one embodiment of the invention is shown as a means of illustration,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a gas pressure pump actuated by valve mechanism,

according tothe present invention, the oil controlvalve beingshown asA closed and the gas control valve mechanism being shown as open;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the fluid pressure `pump but showing the oil control valve open and the gas control mechanismv closed;

Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively cross sections l.sure to dissipate and thus allowing the oil soY taken on the lines and 2; and

Fig. 5 is chiefly an elevational detail, certain. parts however being broken away to show how the pump is placed in a column and indicate certain stages of operation.

In' these drawings `the usual casing 10 is rovided with a casing head 11 for the introuction of gas under pressure by way of an inlet 12, a discharge pipe or ow tube 13 depending within the casing and carrying upon its lower end a fluid pressure pump 14 whose lower extremity is in the form of a fitting-15 secured in a packer 16 which confines the oil body below the packer 16 so as to permit it to enter the pump only and to exclude it from the gas chamber thus formedbetween the casing 10'and the pump and flow tube.

' In addition to the fitting 15 the body-of the 3-3 and 4--4 of Figs. 1

pump 14 carries at its upperend a second fit,

ting 18 connected with the flow tube 13 and provided with an integral spider 19 which leads from opposite sides of the fitting 18 to form gas passages and converges centrally into a nipple 20 upon which is mounted a valve houslng 21provided withV oppositely extending arms in each ofjwhich there is positioned a rotary gas admission valve 22.-

Each valve 22 is actuated through the medium ofexternally disposed arms 23 slotted to receive connecting pins 24 carried in the arms of a yoke 25 formed upon the upper y liquid end of a stem 26 of an oil admission valve 28 adapted to rest upon a valve seat 29 carried upon and closing the lower end of the pump housing 14. Theproper positioning of the seat 29 with respect to the valve stem 26 and the'valves 22 is insured by a bracket 30 extending between said seat and the valve housing 21 and conveniently carrying a guide 31 for said valve stem.

The outer ends of the arms of the valve` housing 21 are provided with housings 32 for dart valves 33 normally actuated downward by springs 341:0 prevent entrancevof into the gas ducts 35 which are fed from the interior of the housing 21 by the gas supplied through the passages in theA spider 19. When the dart valves 33 are moved to upper position against the tension springs 34, they serve to close the outlets 36 through \which the gas is introduced into the chamber 38 within pump housing 14 and around spider 19 and valve housing 21.

The space between the casing 10 and the -flow tube 13 serves to conduct gas under pres-l sure to the gas inlet passages in the spider 19. of the fitting 18. The chamber 38 within said pump housing 14 and around the valve mechanisms carried thereby, cooperates with the interior of the flow tube 13 to receive a body ofpil -forced lpast the valve 28 asindi'- -2, by the natural pressureof.

cated inf.' the oil en e er 16.

thewell beneath the pack-` In o eration, the space between casing 10 and ,tu e 13 is filled with gas under'suitable pressure, and at the commencement of a cycle theoil control valve 28 will .be moved to elevated position as indicated in Fig. 2 b

under influence of the natural pressure of the well. 'When the valve 28 is in such elevated position stem 26 serves through the medium of the arms 23 to holdthe valves 22 in closed position and thereby prevent passage of gas from the spider 19 through the ducts 35 into the chamber 38, and th'e dart valves 33.will engage their lower seats to prevent the entrance'of liquid into said ducts 35'. This condition will be maintained until the flow of oil past the valve 28 ceases or falls to sucjh a low value that gravity will cause thevalve 28, which has considerable mass, to drop into its seat 29. This will `occur when any existing gas pressure plus the hydrostatic head ofthe oil column balances the formation pressure. As the valve 28 descends it operates arms 23 to rothe oil column in the tube 13 andthe flow' ofl gas continues for a time sufcient to elevate the oil column and discharge the greater-portion thereof'at the surface.4

As the oil column is discharged and its weight therefore gradually reduced, the velocity of the gas increases accordingly, thereby tending to increase the gas-oil ratio. At.

the same time a material gas pressure is being maintained in the pum on the face of the valve 28 ue to frictional resistance in the tube 13'as well as to the residual oil .load therein. The reduction in load, as the end of the discharging operation is approached, does not result promptly 1n a sufficient pressure dropv to insurethe vopening of the valve 28 by the natural pressure of the=oil in the well. However, the

pressure drop (due to oil discharge) is such 'that the velocity of the gas past the dart valves 33 (i. e. the difference in pressure on the two sides of the dart valves) soon reaches a rate so high that the tension of the springs 34 is entirelyIovercome. The` ports 36 are therefore closed by valves 33 as soon as the passage of gas becomes excessive and therefore wasteful, suchclosing of valves 33 occurring at a time when the back pressure in the pump member 14 is still material. The resultant sto page of gas flow permits the pressure of t e gas inthe tube 13 to exhaust quickly and thereby reduce the back y 7o the flow of oil upward against the valve '28 14 downwardV pressure upon the 4upper face of the valve 28, so that valve 28 is opened by the oil pressure and the valves 22 are closed through arms 23 as seen in Fig. 2. The oil rises again in thctube 13 untilV the head developed thereby balances rock pressure and the pumping cycle is repeated. In order that the gas trapped under high pressure in ducts 35 may vent to permit the return of the dart valves 33 by their springs 34 to their lowermost positions as in Fig. 2, any relatively insignificant leakage may be relied upon, such as a normal leakage around the upper valve seats, or through a groove in such valve seats,-or other small vent which will insure movement of said dart valvesto said lowermost positions during the Vtime intervals required for illing the flow tubewith'oil.

Fromv the foregoing will be clear that the employment of an automatically actuated'device such as a dart valve 33 under the tension of a spring 34properly selected for the pumping conditions to be met, result in timely operation of the oil admission valve 28 to close the gas admission valves 22 with a consequent prevention of thepas'sage. and loss Vof excessive quantities oi gas. v l

While I have discloseda preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood Vthat such embodiment is merely illustrative of the generic invention and that the invention is limited only as defined in the followin claims. Y

claim:

l. A fluid pressure device for flowing liquids comprising a housing enclosing a receiving chamber, a liquid control valve actuable direction by liquid pressure outside in one the chamber and another direction by gravity, a gas admission valve actuable thereby, and an additional valve actuable .to one posii tion by a velocity of gas to cut oil gas admission when the velocity reaches a predetermined maximum.

2. A structureaccording to claim 1 wherein the velocity actuated valve is spring operated toward the opposite direction to close a gas passage a ainst liquid entrance in the absenceof gas ow. V

3. A construction accordin wherein the velocity actua valve is a double-acting dart valve, a seat being provided for the valve to cut oii as How, and a second seat being provided or the other end of the valve to prever.. liquid return when no gas flows. Y A.

4. A constructionv according to claim 1 wherein the upper end of the housing is permanently open.

uid Ypressure device for flowing oil wells and thelike comprising a pump housing defining a receiving chamber and permanently open at its upper end for connection with a iiow tube, an oil admission valve at the Vhaving a gas conduit leading to claim 1V -by velocity of the gas to cut ofi gas flow when the velocity reaches a predetermined maximum.

6. A construction according to claim 5 Vwherein the gas admission valve is a rotary valve.

7. Means for flowing oil wells and the like comprising a casing depending into a welhq flow tube depending into the casing, apump housing carried on the lower end of the low tube, packing means positioned between the casing and the lower end of the pump housing whereb a gas supply passage is provided above t e packer betweenl the casing and .the

flow tube, said housing defining a receiving chamber in permanent communication with the interior of said ow tube., said housing rior thereof into said chamber, an oil sion valve at the lower end'of said housing actuable upward by ressure of the oil within the well and actuab e downward by gravity a dgadmission valve connected with said o a ssion valve and acutable thereby to cut oi gas flow during oil admission, and an addifrom the ente-1 tional gas control valve positioned beyond f said gas admission valve and actuable by veloci of owin when t e velocity t ereof reaches a predetermined maximum.

Si ed at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Geles, and State of Califorma, this 4th day of anuary, A. D. 1929.

PHILIP SUBKOW.

lowerend of said housing actuable upward i gas to cut oi gas iow CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. I

Patent No. 1,740,793.l Granted December 24. 1929, to

PHILIP SUBKOW.

l It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification off-the above numbered patent requiringl correction s follows: Page I, .line 28,y before the word "pressure" insert the words "a prompt"; .and that vthe said Letters Patent shouldbe read with this correction 'therein that the same may conform A to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of Febrary, A. D. 1930.

I ,My Moore A i (Seal) o Acting Connniscionerof Patents. 

